Young girls miss classes due to inaccessibility of sanitary pads in the Central region

Correspondence from Central Region

Many young girls within the Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam (AEE) district in the Central Region are forced to stay out of school due to inaccessibility to sanitary pads.

The pad, which was sold at GH¢18.00 to GH¢20.00, was not only the problem confronting the girls; they travelled far from their communities to get access to the pad.

The situation was hampering the girls' academic performance and social progress due to their parent's inability to provide their basic needs.

The young girls stay home five days every month during their menstruation period to avoid being disgraced by the blood flow.

"We stay home five to six days every month during our period to avoid soiling our uniforms with blood," according to them.

Abigail Ampofo, a Junior High School student of D/A in the area, called on the government to scrap taxes on sanitary pads to decrease the high price for the betterment of girl-child education.

She said aside from the accessibility, her parents were unable to provide the pads monthly for her menstruation period, so they were forced to stay home during school periods.

"Many of us don't go to school during menstruation, either accessibility or inability to get the sanitary pads," she said.

Ampofo, however, appealed for free sanitary pads to young girls within her community to help them maintain menstrual hygiene.

She revealed that using dirty rags was the only option, or sleeping with men for money to afford the pads for themselves.

Many of the young girls are dropouts due to the situation, increasing the rate of teenage pregnancy in the area.

Faustina Addo, a class six pupil who had experienced menstruation for the first time, said she was fortunate to get one pad from a teacher for the month, but only God knows how she would go through the rest of her periods.

"My teacher provided one sanitary pad for my first period, but trying to provide for subsequent months."

She advised parents to be responsible, especially with the girl child, to avoid teenage pregnancy hindering their growth and development.

Addo said that the sanitary pad cost GH¢20.00 and was difficult to purchase due to the financial constraints parent go through in the country.